A Stolen Future
by thisgirlwrites
Summary: One late night discovery threatens the safety of the newly reconstructed future world. But if not an android, then what?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Dragon Ball Z. If you thought I did, then you have been living under a rock for far too long. Come, join the rest of the world. =P Heh heh. Anywho, that be all.

A Stolen Future

Chapter 1

The night was cold; the streets, busy. People hurried back and forth between the stores and restaurants in the heart of the city. Some were alone; others, with family or friends. But, the majority of people out at the late hour were young couples, couples taking advantage of the romantic, star-filled night.

Perhaps in part, because these people were absorbed in their own business or in each other, few people noticed a girl standing near an almost deserted street corner. She stood leaning back against a brick wall, one that had been the victim of many late night excursions by local self-styled, self-proclaimed artists.

Or perhaps their ignorance of her was because she stood half-hidden by the shadows caused by the dim lighting. Several of the streetlights in this more neglected area of the city had long since ceased to fulfill their purpose of lighting the streets, due either to poor maintenance or lack thereof. Nevertheless, the people of the city continued to pass by her hurriedly.

Or maybe the reason they stayed away from her was not due to their ignorance of her presence. No, possibly it was her own less-than-friendly expression. Her eyes were icy, and the glare she had given the few people who had mustered the courage to approach her was colder than the chilling night air.

She stood there silently, watching as the people passed in front of her, but she saw nothing. She was not interested in the people of the city, or even in the city itself. She had no reason to stay; she would leave soon.

* * * * *

Elsewhere, a young man walked the streets alone. He was searching for something, _anything_ that might break the monotony of the pattern his life was slipping into. Whatever it was he hoped to find, there was little chance he would find it here.

The cold night air whistled loudly as it blew in from the north. The young man pulled his blue jacket a bit tighter, an effort to block the chill of the dropping temperature. He pushed his wind-blown lavender hair back out of his eyes. He didn't know why he even bothered; his hair would inevitably end up where he least wanted it, but maybe he did it more out of habit than out of need. He continued to walk silently.

This city had been one of the few that had escaped destruction during the androids' reign of terror. But now that the android twins were gone, the world had moved towards an era of peace. Cities had been rebuilt, and people had begun to put their lives back together again. Already some people had forgotten the intense fear they had felt during those long years, and it was only a matter of time before their recollection of their lives during the time of the androids' reign would be nothing more than a distant memory. A memory they hoped to soon forget.

But he had never felt that way. He had lived through too much while trying to free his world of the control of the androids to dismiss these memories carelessly. He had learned a great deal; he had grown up quickly, perhaps faster than he should have.

Now, there seemed to be little left for him. At least before, he had known his place in life; he had known it was his duty and responsibility to liberate the Earth. Even after his long-awaited victory over the androids, there had still been a place for him. He had helped tirelessly at the restoration of cities, towns, and villages. But now, the period of reconstruction was nearly over, and he had yet to find his place.

"Hey, have you seen that girl?" asked someone.

The voice intruded noisily upon his thoughts, and his reverie ended short. He looked around slowly for something familiar but realized that he no longer knew where he was. He had been so lost in his own thoughts that he had ceased to pay attention to the world around him.

"You mean the one standing near the corner of Third and Eighth Street?" asked the companion of the first speaker.

Trunks turned away slowly. There was nothing more for him to do here; perhaps it was time for him to leave.

"You saw her too, then," continued the first boy. "She's been standing there _forever_. I heard someone say that she hasn't moved at all in the last hour."

"Yeah, I heard that the last person who tried to talk to her got scared off. They said he couldn't stand her glare," responded the second boy, his voice awed and a bit scared.

"Come on. Let's go see her," suggested the first.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Aw, come on. Don't be such a scaredy-cat!"

"Leave me alone!"

Trunks had stopped and listened in on the conversation of the two boys. Their voices faded as they ran off, still bickering. Their conversation had, of course, not been directed at him, but nevertheless it had piqued his curiosity. The corner of third and eighth, they had said. That wasn't far from where he was. He would go and find this girl they had been talking about, if only to satisfy his own curiosity.

He hurried on quickly, weaving his way through the crowded streets. In his haste, he bumped into one of the many people around him.

"Oh! Sorry," he apologized hastily as he walked on.

_Why am I in such a hurry?_

Was it the distant, hopeful promise of adventure, or simply the desire for some small event to break the pattern of his now ordinary life? Maybe all he wanted was some unusual occurrence to mark this day as different from all the others. He slowed down as he reached his destination.

Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Had he heard wrong? He walked slowly up the dimly lit street but still saw nothing. The two boys he had heard earlier were nowhere to be found, but it was better that way. From what little he had heard from them, this girl seemed a bit hostile.

Suddenly he stopped where he was. He had the distinct feeling that someone was watching him. He looked around quickly and noticed a dark shadow being cast from one of the many alleys that lined the street. He quickly walked forward, towards the source of the shadow.

Then he saw her.

_Beautiful._

He shook his head, surprised at the thoughts that were going through his mind.

_Why am I thinking this way?_

He realized with a start that she was staring at him. Had this been what the two boys had been talking about, her frosty glare?

_Why? Why is she looking at me like that?_

But he was not as easily dismissed as most. He moved his gaze over her quickly, but the darkness prevented him from seeing her completely.

_Blue eyes._

Even in the darkness, he could see the shade of her eyes; they pierced the shadows, and the wintry stare she gave him was unsettling.

_Her eyes. They're like ice._

He moved his gaze over her slowly, taking in her appearance.

_Black hair._

Her long hair was dark, wild but only to the point of adding to her allure.

_Exotic charm._

Was that what he thought of her?

_Deadly._

He flinched involuntarily as those words came to his mind. He had no reason to suspect that she was dangerous, but something in her expression made him feel that way.

_A rose._

No, a rose was too common.

_A blue rose._

Yes, that suited her better.

_With thorns._

The girl stared at him, unable to determine why he was still there. She was surprised, but her emotion did not show up in her face. She had learned long ago to hide her emotions. It had been almost necessary to her survival. It could make the difference between life and death.

_Who is he?_

He hadn't left yet; moreover, he was staring back at her. She followed his gaze for a moment before she became lost in one of her own.

_Lavender hair?_

She thought this with some amusement. He was the first she had seen with hair of that color; but amazingly enough, it seemed to suit him. Perhaps on another it would have appeared strange; but on him, it just seemed right. She moved her gaze down a bit.

_Blue eyes._

The bright intensity of his eyes contrasted with the pale color of his hair. This unusual combination seemed to set him apart from all those she had seen in the hours that she had been standing here.

_What am I thinking?_

She reproached herself for losing focus on what she was doing. She had allowed herself to drift too deep into her own thoughts. Now, she would have to make sure that she had not given him the wrong impression.

Trunks broke his gaze for a moment. Standing here would do him no good. He had to talk to her.

_But will she let me?_

He started to approach her slowly.

"If you come any closer," she warned, her voice barely above a whisper, "I'll kill you."

The End. Heh, kidding. Wouldn't that be a perfectly lovely way to end this? Mmm, probably not. ^_^ Well, what'd you think? Decent, passable, horrible? Ah, I know it had the makings of a Mary Sue *gasp* but don't judge it just yet. Keep an open mind, 'k? Um, well, that's it for now.

~Azuri

dbzazuri@yahoo.com


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Dragon Ball Z. If you thought I did, then you have been living under a rock for far too long. Come, join the rest of the world. =P Heh heh...

A Stolen Future

Chapter 2

Trunks drew back suddenly, surprised by her words, by her tone.

_What does she mean?_

He almost laughed at himself for thinking that.

_Isn't it obvious?_

But he wouldn't back down, not that easily.

She stared back at him, a bit surprised.

_He's stubborn._

He hadn't left when she had threatened him, and _that_ made him either very brave or very foolish.

_Maybe he doesn't believe me._

That would be a mistake on his part. She meant what she said.

He still hadn't moved. He was waiting, waiting to see if she would speak again; but from the looks of it, her threat would be the extent of her conversation with him.

_Why?_

She moved her gaze just the slightest bit over, allowing her to see the street beyond him. She had to look for some sort of diversion. Killing him could lead to problems. There were just too many people passing by. She didn't want to cause a panic among these easily frightened humans.

That_ would be annoying._

But what sort of distraction could she create while he watched her so closely?

Then she saw a little girl walk by, clinging to her mother's hand tightly. The small child was staring up at the sky with wide eyes, no doubt admiring the starry night.

_Perfect._

"Look Mommy!" exclaimed the little girl, as she pulled on her mother's hand and pointed up at the sky with her free hand. "A falling star!" she continued, delighted at the rare occurrence.

Trunks looked away for a moment, hoping that the source of the voice he had just heard was not from someone close enough to him or her to be in any danger. He turned back around quickly to face the mysterious young woman, but he realized with a start that she had disappeared.

_She's... gone._

He walked forward slowly to where she had been standing, but she had disappeared, leaving no trace of her presence behind.

_But how did she move so fast?_

In the second he had been distracted, she had not only moved out of the abandoned alley, but she had also managed to disappear completely from the surrounding streets. Unless it was some sort of trick, she was incredibly fast. The only ones he had ever known to move _that_ quickly and quietly were the-- 

His eyes widened as this sudden realization came over him.

_She – she can't be an android, can she?_

No. No, it just wasn't possible. There were only two androids in this time. And besides, although there had been more androids in the other future, none of them had looked at all like her. All of the androids were gone; there was no doubt of that. He had killed them himself.

There _were_ no other androids; there couldn't be.

_So, who is she?_

But he had lost his chance, she was gone.

_Now I'll never know who she was._

He turned away slowly, his eyes lingering on the spot where she had been. Perhaps it was time for him to head home.

* * * * * *

The girl walked along a dark alley. For the moment, she was alone, alone with nothing save her own thoughts.

_It's better this way._

She preferred the calm silence and the half-peace her solitude offered her. The night was growing colder, but she hardly noticed. Not even the beautiful star-filled night sky could captivate her attention. Nothing this world could offer her interested her in the least. Nothing mattered.

Nothing was important.

* * * * * *

Trunks stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom. The clock beside his bed read 3:30 A.M. There had been no point in his attempt at sleep. His mind filled with questions, fears, and doubts.

_Who was she? How did she leave so fast? Is she an android?_

He sat up slowly. How could he even hope to sleep with so many unanswered questions running through his mind? He stared across his room, but he saw little for the darkness. He had to find something to occupy his mind until morning, or else he would surely go mad. He stood up briskly and made his way across his room and out the door. The hallway outside of his room also lacked lighting for the moment; but, of course, that was no surprise.

_Who else would be up at this hour?_

He walked slowly down the hallway, past the many closed doors. The house was nearly empty; only he and his mother lived there now. His footsteps echoed in the long, dark hallway.

Moments later he found himself in his mother's old laboratory. She had since relocated to a much more advanced lab since the demise of the androids. As she no longer had to worry about her experiments being destroyed, she could move to a much larger and more visible laboratory. But in this previous lab, she kept her most valuable invention.

_The time machine._

Without it, he would not have been able to help save either his world or the other world. If he hadn't gone back to the past, he would have most likely died in a fight against the androids. If he had died, then there would have been no one left to defend the Earth. He had been the Earth's last hope after Gohan had been killed.

_Gohan._

He stared down at the floor. If only there had been some way to prevent that from happening, but it was something he could never change, something he had been forced to learn to live with.

He walked over to the time machine, his movements causing the motion sensitive lights to turn on. The room flooded with the bright light emitted by the fluorescent lights, blinding him temporarily. As his vision cleared, he found himself staring at the word he had written on the time machine before he had gone back to the past.

_Hope._

That one word summed up everything that had been riding on his success. The whole future of his world and even the future of the other world had been directly affected by his time travel. If something had gone wrong... He shook his head. He had come down here to clear his mind, not to fill it with more questions.

He looked over at the clock that hung over the door to the room; it read 3:45. Time had seemed to slow to a crawl, as it always seemed to do when he was waiting for something. He would go back to the city tomorrow, but the chances of finding her again were slim. Immediately all of the questions from which he had tried to distract himself flooded his mind again. One in particular overshadowed the rest, the one he least wanted to think about.

_Why did I want to find her so much? It doesn't make any sense. Why?_

Her icy stare and the threat she had made had been strange, but they were far from an invitation. She had made it clear that his presence had been unwanted.

_She couldn't have been serious when she threatened to kill me. She was only bluffing, wasn't she?_

Trunks sighed. This was getting him nowhere.

He turned back around and made his way out of the lab. Until morning, he would have to find something else to occupy his time, but then he would go back. There was something different about her.

_And I'm going to find out what it is._

* * * * * *

The next morning found Trunks already walking the streets of the city. He had been there since almost dawn. He had watched passively as the city had filled with people headed for work or wherever else they happened to be going. Now it was almost ten o'clock. The streets were nearly empty again. He was almost ready to give up.

_This is hopeless. Where should I go? Why am I even here? I'm not going to find her._

He stopped walking. She had made it clear that she didn't want him to come close to her, and yet here he was, drawn back as though she had asked him to meet her.

_This is so stupid, but why? Why do I keep thinking about it?_

He remained standing in place awhile, trying to clear his mind long enough to decide what to do.

_Should I stay here and keep looking for her even though she doesn't want to be found? Or should I just forget all about last night and leave?_

Before he had time to think about either option, he heard a very distinct noise. It was the sound of someone firing a pistol.

* * * * * *

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" asked a tall, muscular man in a mocking tone of voice. He stared down at the young woman, the same one from the preceding night.

"Don't you know it's dangerous for a _woman_ of your age to walk this neighborhood alone?" questioned the second man. He was shorter than the first but wider, and he would have appeared less threatening except for the gun he aimed at her. He said the word 'woman' in a condescending tone of voice; apparently, he thought of her as nothing more than a helpless child.

"Leave me alone," she warned, her voice taking on the same threatening tone. She was in no mood to deal with these two misfits.

The two men were taken aback. They hadn't expected her to talk back to them. Obviously, the gun they aimed at her had no effect on her calm composure.

She glared back at them with an expression of mixed amusement and annoyance.

_Idiots._

They were starting to irritate her. Maybe it was time for her to leave.

She turned to go, but the tall man noticed her movements.

"HEY!" he yelled. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

She didn't stop; moreover, she continued to walk away from them.

"Stop right there!" demanded the short man. He aimed quickly and fired his gun. The gunshot rang out loudly, the deafening noise resounding throughout the streets. The bullet whisked by her and embedded itself in the cold concrete. She stopped walking.

"Don't you know who we are?" started the tall man.

"No," she replied, icily as she turned back around slowly to face them. "And I don't care," she finished, punctuating each syllable with her suddenly venomous tone of voice.

The two men were still surprised. Her reaction of indifference to them was unnerving. The firing of the gun had served its purpose in stopping her, but her reaction was altogether different from one that they would have anticipated.

She flipped a stray strand of hair behind shoulder coolly. Her motion caused the necklace she wore to become visible to the two men.

"There!" interjected the first man. "Give us that necklace, or next time he won't miss."

She looked at them, her eyes showing the slightest bit of interest. She looked down at the necklace she wore. It was a brilliantly blue crystal suspended on a surprisingly delicate silver chain. She played with it idly in her hand for a moment before she reached back and unfastened the clasp.

_They have no idea what they're getting into._

"You want this?" she asked demurely, as she held her necklace out to them enticingly.

"That's better..." began the tall man, as he made his way over to her.

"Then get it," she told him as she suddenly threw the necklace high into the air with a flick of her wrist. It shimmered brightly as it reflected the rays of the sunlight in the midst of its flight.

* * * * * *

Trunks made his way quickly towards the source of the gunshot he had heard. He could only hope that no one had been hurt. The streets were nearly empty, as most people were busy with their own occupations at this time in the late morning. He stopped suddenly as he heard a loud, overbearing voice.

_There._

He quickly arrived at his destination. There in front of him he saw two men, one tall and one short. But, more importantly, he saw the girl.

_She's here?_

He couldn't believe it. All this time he had spent looking for her, and now he had found her.

_But what's going on?_

The two men were approaching her, but she appeared unconcerned. He heard them talk to her for a moment, but her voice was too soft. He couldn't hear her answer to them. He watched silently as she continued to stand there. Then he noticed the gun the short man held in his hand. He had forgotten the reason he had found them. She needed help.

_Then why am I still standing here?_

He shook his head. He didn't understand it, but he felt almost compelled to remain where he was. Something about her seemed to warn him not to interfere. But he was taking a big chance.

_What if I'm wrong?_

If he was wrong, it could cost her, her life.

_I can't take that chance._

He had to intervene.

Suddenly her voice broke into his thoughts.

"Then get it."

He saw her throw something up into the air. It sparkled brightly for a moment, but he couldn't see it clearly.

"Why you little--" raged the tall man, as he suddenly charged the girl. He aimed a punch at her head, but instead his fist connected violently with the brick wall behind her. He howled in pain. She had leaned over just the slightest bit to the side when he had thrown his punch and avoided it easily. Then she retaliated with a swift kick that sent him flying backwards.

Trunks remained still, astounded by what he had just witnessed.

_She..._

All the while, she had yet to move far from her place. She held her hand out, and the necklace fell neatly into her hand. Without taking her eyes off the second man, she refastened the clasp.

The second man drew back, shocked and even scared by what he had just seen. His partner had been completely knocked out by this young woman. It was bizarre. And now he would have to fight her himself, but luckily for him, he had the added insurance of his gun. He aimed it at her from where he stood, less than a few feet from her.

Trunks raced forward suddenly. No matter how skilled she was in fighting, she wouldn't be able to avoid that.

"Stay where you are," she said suddenly.

Trunks stopped, dumbfounded. Somehow, in the midst of all this chaos, she had managed to keep aware of her surroundings, so much so to the point that she had sensed his presence.

_Did she know I was here all along?_

Was that possible?

_Does she know I came looking for her?_

He remained standing where he was. She was staring straight at him again, her eyes as frosty as the night before.

Suddenly the sound of the gunshot rang out.

_Oh no._

It was too late. He shouldn't have taken that chance.

* * * * * *

The necklace fell into her hand. It had taken her less time to dismiss the tall man's assault than it had taken the necklace to return from its flight into the air.

_What an idiot._

Suddenly she sensed something. Someone was watching her, someone besides the tall man's short and now flabbergasted partner.

_Him._

Her eyes flickered over to the young man for a moment.

_What is he doing here?_

She couldn't believe that he had found her. But then again, the gunshot fired earlier had been loud enough to attract him.

_Now I'll have to deal with him as well._

She didn't want to attract any more attention. If the gunshot had attracted him, then it was likely that more people would soon show up.

_Time to leave._

Suddenly she realized the short man was aiming his gun at her. Then she noticed the young man running towards her.

"Stay where you are."

She didn't want him coming any closer. She watched his expression as it shifted from one of concern to one of astonishment. Obviously, he hadn't realized that she knew he was there.

She allowed her gaze to remain on him for a moment. In the bright daylight, she could see him more clearly than she had been able to the night before. The dark, loosely fit pants; the black, sleeveless top; the blue jacket. All of it. She took it in his appearance in a glance.

Suddenly the sound of another gunshot rang out. She had allowed herself to become too distracted in her own thoughts. She had forgotten the other man.

And so ends chapter two. How many times did I revise this one anyways? Hmm, good question. Hopefully I finally got most of the mistakes out of it. Quick apology for taking so long with this. Five AP exams are a horrible way to spend the last few weeks of high school, but I had no choice. But, now that I'm finally graduating, I'll hopefully have a little more time to write.

As always, comments and reviews are muchly appreciated. Thanx.

~Azuri

dbzazuri@yahoo.com


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